The city prepares for Davos months before the conference. Hundreds of volunteers are recruited to play host to the domestic and international leaders who visit Dalian. Thousands of flowerpots adorn the main avenues and public security is bolstered to guarantee the safety of citizens and attendees during this important event.
But, what is it about Davos that makes it the event of the year? We take a look at exactly what Davos is and why it is important, to China and to the world.
WHAT IS DAVOS?
The Davos forum is comprised of a series of meetings organized by The World Economic Forum (WEF) in which global leaders converge to discuss key global issues. It was dubbed the WEF’s “Davos forum” because it originated in Davos, Switzerland.
Currently, the Davos forum is hosted twice a year:
Winter Davos: Every January in Switzerland at the annual meeting of the WEF
Summer Davos: Every September during the Davos Annual Meeting of New Champions alternating between Dalian and Tianjin.
The Annual Meeting of the New Champions, the “Summer Davos”, is the foremost global business gathering in Asia. Introduced in 2007 in close collaboration with the People’s Republic of China and with the personal support of Premier Wen Jiabao.
WHAT IS THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM?
The WEF is an independent organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging international business, political, academic and other leaders of society to coordinate global, regional and industry agendas.
The WEF was first conceived in 1971 when a group of European business leaders met under the patronage of the European Commission and European industrial associations. Professor Klaus Sc hwab of the University of Geneva chaired the first meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Professor Schwab’s vision for what would become a platform for resolving economic and international conflicts grew steadily and the WEF’s Davos meeting expanded its focus from management to economic and social issues. In 1974 political leaders were invited for the first time to Davos.
The WEF is now also responsible for organizing other important global meetings such as Economic Summits, Summits on the Global Agenda, and World Economic Forums.
HOW THE DAVOS FORUM CAME TO CHINA
As the economy of the eastern hemisphere countries grew and issues based on such growth started to make international headlines, it became clear that the Davos forum needed to expand horizons.
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